The New Age of Fire
by RMVthewriter
Summary: What the player character thinks about when they go for the End of Fire ending in Dark Souls 3. (Gender ambiguous character)(Slight Player/Fire Keeper Shipping) Two-shot.
1. Chapter 1

The Fall began with the eyes.

No.

It began at the beginning. The first moment their eyes opened in the Cemetery of Ash, the Fall had begun. Though, they would not know it at the time.

Through their eyes, Lothric was obscene. Both the creatures and the world around them had been deformed into living nightmares, praying on any stupid enough to walk in their wake.

The first person they saw flung himself at them, knife raised for the kill. They easily dodged the man and ended his existence, feeling his souls rush into theirs. This repeated for the next person they met, and the next, and the next. Each one seeming more and more grotesque.

That was where it began.

Never once, did the grimace leave their face. Never once, did they delight in the world around them. As they climbed through remnants of castles long since destroyed, never once did they believe in the beauty of the flame.

And then they saw her.

They walked into Firelink Shrine, weapon raised, ready to kill anyone who dared to strike. But instead of the monsters they had grown accustomed to, they found a woman, standing tall near the center of the shrine.

Long white hair draped down her back alongside her dark decorative robes. She turned to them, and their breath was taken away. Not by any magic or sorcery, but by sheer enamourment. They stopped in their tracks, weapon lowered, and the woman gave a small smile.

"Welcome to the bonfire, Unkindled One. I am a Fire Keeper. I tend to the flame, and tend to thee." Her voice came with the wind, causing them to relax completely. Somehow, they knew they were safe. Then they were told their mission. "The Lords have left their thrones, and must be deliver'd to them. To this end, I am at thy side."

So they did as told, because she told them to.

Together, they worked in perfect harmony. They would collect and offer her their souls, and in exchange, they would be granted power enough to complete their next task.

However, after much searching, they realized their true goal. To link the first flame and continue the Age of Fire.

But they did not want to.

After they met the Fire Keeper, they assumed the world would be so much better, like they had just woken up on the wrong side of it. They assumed wrong.

Past the Fire Keeper, only more horrors awaited. Ruins and deamons and men looking to be slaughtered, plagued Lothric yet still. It made them wonder why anyone would want to go on, to want a world like this.

Perhaps they who craved for the continuation of the age were mad. It certainly wouldn't be a surprise to them. But she too wanted it, and they wished not to let her down.

Then they found the eyes, hidden deep in the Dark Firelink Shrine. As gruesome as it was, they figured she would want them, the only things she didn't have.

When they presented the gift, she was taken aback.

"Ashen one, are these… Are these eyes? How gracious of thee, ashen one. The very things we Fire Keepers have been missing…" Their cold heart swelled with the flame of passion at the words, but she was not done talking. "Ashen one, my thanks for the eyes thou'st given. But Fire Keepers are not meant to have eyes. It is forbidden. These will reveal, through a sliver of light, frightful images of betrayal. A world without fire." Her voice became shaky, but she continued still. "Ashen one, is this truly thy wish?"

They could not lie to her. They nodded, frightened of the words she might speak next.

"Of course. I serve thee, and will do as thou bid'st. This will be our private affair. No one else may know of this. Stay thy path, find lords to link the fire, and I will blindly tend to the flame. Until the day of thy grand betrayal."

They found themselves conflicted. Joyous that she accepted his choice and kept their secret, but mournful that she seemed to think their actions were wrong. An end to this horrid world would mean nothing to them if she was not by their side.

"Ashen one, forgive me is this soundeth strange. The eyes show a world without fire, a vast stretch of darkness. But 'tis different to what is seen when stripped of vision. In the far distance, I sense the presence of tiny flames. Like precious embers, left to us by past Lords, linkers of the fire." She hesitated, but continued as she always would. "Could this be what draws me to this strangely enticing darkness?"

Their cold heart was no longer swelled like that of a normal flame, but like roared like the first fire itself, magnificent in scale. Still though, she was not finished.

"Ashen one, if thine heart should bend… Kill me, and strip these eyes from my person. I will return as the Fire Keeper I once was. As it has always been."

They would not, could not ever kill her, and so the course was set in stone. The Fall was now completely and utterly inevitable.

And now here they were. After defeating the Soul of Cinder, they summoned her to them, wishing not to be apart when the world faded to black. They watched as she took the dying fire in her hands, perhaps giving it a final farewell before the blackness overtook the world.

"The First Flame quickly fades. Darkness will shortly settle." Silently, they stared at her as she gazed into the dying ember. "But one day, tiny flames will dance across the darkness. Like embers, linked by lords past."

Finally, the light faded completely, and a new age of darkness had arrived.

"Ashen one, hearest thou my voice still?" In the eternal blackness, they put a hand on her shoulder, connecting them as one.

* * *

In the darkness, they had nothing but each other. Neither of them moved, neither spoke, but they both basked in each other's presence. There was no sight, no smell, no taste, no hearing, only touch. And that was all they did, touch her shoulder. Simple, yet enough to last them an eon. And perhaps they did last an eon. Or maybe a few eons. Or perhaps only a few seconds. However long they stood there, it did not matter, for time was irrelevant in the black.

But one day, it happened. The tiniest of lights danced in the distance, neither far nor close. Still, they waited. And then another day, perhaps the day right after, one of those embers exploded with the power of the sun, and light returned once more to Lothric.

This time, things were different. The world no longer had it's deformities, the deamons had returned to the soil from whence they came, the people had finally become civilised and aware of their own surroundings. And in a place far from the new and prospering civilization, two beings of old finally looked at each other for the first time in what could have been a millenia.

"Ashen one…"

And what a beautiful sight it was to behold

* * *

 **More one-shot ideas from the shower. Who could've guessed?**

 **I don't know why, but I sort of fell in love with the idea that the player and Fire Keeper go into the darkness together. There's just something I find slightly romantic about it. Like their destinies have become intertwined or something. I don't know.**

 **I mainly did this to give my brain a rest from my main stories.**

 **Helpful criticism appreciated, until next time,**

 **-RMV**

 **Edit: I haven't read any Dark Souls fanfics so if this has already been done before, I didn't mean to plagiarize.**


	2. Chapter 2

Frideir Unulvic had finally made it. After the hoards and hoards of daemons, and creatures that towered over even the largest castles, he had made it to The Castle of Beginning, the structure built around the First Flame by the ancient King Heras.

Once a place of prosperity, the palace had fallen into disrepair, making it a maze for all who entered. The old residents had either killed themselves or gone mad, forcing Frideir to fight his way through. Not that he wasn't used to that.

The castle had been built right into Fire Mountain, in constant view as he made his way closer. Finally being there, overlooking the entire realm of Lordun, had been a cathartic experience. One that gave him the boost of confidence he needed to his newest challenge. And now he had only one more challenge left, The Ash.

The mystery that was the world of Lordun was only eclipsed by the mystery of The Ash, a creature older than the First Flame itself. It was said to have appeared only after the flame was linked for the first time, killing King Heras in the process. Once done, the creature took residence in The Castle of Beginning, putting itself in the Fire Sanctuary, between all those who wished to relink the flame once more. A problem for the brave knight Frideir.

As a Returner, he was one of many warriors brought back from the dead for the purpose of relinking the flame. He had no memory of his past, but seeing the state of the world, he wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not. Regardless, he did as he was told for the sake of the fire.

Now, he stood at the fog door, estus filled after his quick rest at the bonfire the burned dimly at his back. His confidence that brought him through The Castle of Beginning had long since been used up and he found himself thinking of the other Returners before him that had made it this far.

They had all gone hollow, for one, and for two, none seemed keen to inform him of the threat he faced. He was given the vaguest of hints, like 'beware the flame,' or 'the eyes know if you lie,' but they never answered him when he outright asked what The Ash was. One particular response stood out in his mind though.

"Phases, boy? You want to know 'bout phases? Well I'll tell you about phases. The Ash is either calm, or angry. And I pray to the sun that you defeat The Ash before you find what makes it angry. Because if you don't… You will go hollow."

That was… Unsettling to say the least. But Frideir couldn't back down now, not when he was so close. Calming his nerves and readying his shield, he stepped into the fog.

The brave knight was surprised by what he saw next.

It wasn't the Fire Sanctuary that surprised him. All and all, it was actually slightly smaller than the arenas he had grown used to. It wasn't the First Flame that surprised him. The Flame, in the process of dying out, had grown much smaller and dimmer than it once was. What did surprise him was The Ash, or should he say Ashes.

For one thing, there was no colossal beast spawned from the darkness as Frideir expected. Instead, there were just two normal looking people, or about as normal looking as a person could be.

One was clearly a woman, very similar in appearance to the Firekeeper that had helped him along his quest, aside for the one glaring difference. Where his Firekeeper had a metal headdress to cover her eyes, this one wore no such thing, showing her wholly black eyes for all to see. Black eyes that regarded him the moment he entered, staring deep into his souls. She was kneeling, seemingly praying, as the second figure had their hand on her shoulder.

The second figure was clad in armour and never spoke, making Frideir unable to discern the person's gender. Not that it mattered much, simply the first observation Frideir made towards this new threat. The second most immediate thing that stuck out to him was that nothing else stuck out to him. Along with being no fearsome monster, they also had no crazy weapon and their armour was simple in design. A stark contrast to all the normal sized enemy he had faced in the past.

He stood there, staring at the two, until the Firekeeper lookalike spoke.

"Tell me, Warrior of the Flame, why hast thou come to this place?" He stood tall and raised his chest.

"I have come to relink the First Flame and continue the Age of Fire." The woman smiled lightly.

"Thou do not lie. That is a shame." With that, the two switched their positions, with the armoured figure kneeling and the woman standing with her hand on their shoulder. It was a familiar position to Frideir, one he had done many time with his own Firekeeper to increase his power. The same bright light appeared out of the woman's hand and the figure seemed to get slightly bigger and more imposing. "Arise, Ashen One, and allow the cycles to maintain their course."

The Ashen One, or as Frideir knew him better as, The Ash, did as such and unsheathed their blade. The fight for the flame began now.

On Friedeir's first try, things didn't go very well. Almost instantly, he was taken off guard by the speed and force of every blow, not even managing to land a single hit before he was defeated.

The second try was slightly better. Frideir was able to avoid the onslaught of blows at the very beginning of the fight and was even able to survive the second wave with minimal damage. But when he went for a hit, he found himself engulfed in a fireball summoned by the Eyed Firekeeper. This didn't do much damage, but it made him stagger, which was all The Ash needed to end Frideir's second attempt. Still, he hadn't even landed a single hit.

The third through seventeenth tries were basically the same. He managed to survive a few waves of vicious attacks before trying to strike with occasional success, though he never brought The Ash below twentyfive percent health.

On the eighteenth try, Frideir decided to switch it up a bit, double handing his weapon and losing the shield. When he did this, however, the most peculiar thing happened, The Ash switched their style around as well. Now to an even faster dual sword technique that made quick work of his tank like style. Never before had Frideir ever encounter an enemy that would change how they acted based on his movements, aside from the dark spirit invaders who were far and few between.

After much experimenting, he went back to his to his sword and shield technique, finding that to be the easiest to work with. By that time, he had lost count of his tries. Even still, he was making progress at a snail's pace, every time getting more frustrated and, therefore, worse.

At some point, he started trying to attack the Eyed Firekeeper, as her fire magic provided a constant annoyance during the battle. When he tried this, The Ash got even more vicious, if at all possible, never letting Frideir close to the woman. It was on what Frideir would never know to be his one hundred and eleventh try that he snapped.

Frideir never liked using more than his sword and shield. He found using outside items in a duel to be cheap and dishonorable. Frideir was long past caring for his honor now. On this try, when The Ash paused to rest after his fury of strikes, Frideir backed up, knowing the woman wouldn't fire unless to went to attack. Pulling out a firebomb he had stored in his pocket, he chucked it at The Ash, causing them to stumble.

As soon as it connected, Frideir bolted for the woman, rolling out of the way of the fire hurled towards him. He heard The Ash get up seconds later and begin to run after him, but by then the lead was too much. With one foul swoop, Frideir plunged his sword into the woman's stomach and drove her into the steps leading to the First Flame. Before he could continue onwards, his head was removed from his body, causing him to disappear.

When Frideir returned this time around, he spent a few moments looking over his inventory, trying to find something that could repeat the effect. Unfortunately, he could find nothing else, since he had only carried one firebomb on him. Signing frustratedly, he walked up to the fog door for the one hundred and twelfth time. Right before he entered, though, his entire body went cold, and the bonfire behind him was snuffed in an instant.

Frideir Unulvic froze, both figuratively and literally. The fire of the world was gone, he could feel it. He must have failed, the First Flame extinguished. Yet, for some reason, he felt a pull within him. The same pull that had brought him to The Castle of Beginning in the first place, telling him to walk through the fog door once more. So he did.

* * *

The Ashen One and the Firekeeper, their destinies linked since the moment they met, now had tears in their eyes. Unlike the other beings of the new world, they were not linked to the First Flame. When the Fire was reset by a Returner, well, 'returning,' they were not. They were both immortal, but neither invincible, and once dead, there was no coming back.

They lived in peace together for a long time, happy to merely be in her presence. She told him they still had a role to play, but they didn't want it to be true. They didn't want power or glory, only her, and for a time, they got just that. Then the Fire was relinked.

Almost instantly, the world turned for the worst. And while they just wanted to ignore it all, she insisted that they must keep the cycles going. Before they were able to make it to the First Flame, however, it was relinked for a second time. And by that point, the horrors could not be ignored.

They fought side by side as they made their way through the new Lothric, she with her natural talent for fire magic, and them with their sword. A problem they faced was that he could not get any more powerful, since she was no longer connected to the Flame. Instead, they found that she was connected to him, and shifted his power according to the situation. If he needed strength, she'd simply take some speed, if he needed endurance, she would take some of his vitality. Like this, they made it to The Castle of Beginning right as King Heras relinked the Flame for the third time.

After he was slain, an intense fight given their one try, they became the guardians of the flame, waiting for it to take its natural course. During this wait, many heros tried their hand at defeating the duo. All failed.

Only one had managed to get past them and hurt her in their time there. In response, they ran out to the bonfire and continuously killed the man until he turned hollow, his fury driving him for revenge. And now, here they were, her dying in their arms.

"It is alright, Ashen One, my time hast come to an end." They shook their head, refusing to let her go. They could not, would not let her die. There had to be a way to save her.

Then they heard the crackling of the Fire.

Gently placing her down, they walked over to the dying flame and scoped it up in their hand. Craning her head over to see what they were doing, she called out to stop him.

"No, Ashen One! The cycles must continue!" Her protests fell on deaf ears, as they approached ever closer with the flame in toe. "Please, let me die!" They offered her the Fire as they did many other souls long ago. She could not refuse them then, and she could not refuse them now, unwillingly taking the power of the First Flame into her body.

All of the fire in the world, all of the power, vanished in that instant, flying back to the host it meant to be in. She was a goddess now, power radiating off her like no other creature before. She stood tall, her wounds healed in an instant, and they bowed to her, worshipping her as they always should have.

"Ashen One…" The voice that came with the wind now came with the glorious heat of fire. "I see now, how it is meant to be…" They did not look to her, afraid of her judgement. "Rise Ashen One. I have no anger towards thee." They rose, but still did not glance upon her form. "The Fire, the cycles, everything has led to this moment." She put her hand on their cheek and brought their eyes up to meet her's. "The Fire was never meant for simply one person. Absolute power corrupts. The Fire was never meant for everyone. The greedy and strong would only fight over it. The Fire had always been meant for two. Two being who share in the passion of the flames. Two beings who come together as one." Their helmet was removed and a kiss was placed upon their forehead. With that kiss came a section of her power, making them equals.

Once it was done, they both turned to the man bowing at the door. She sat down as they walked over to the man, who had been overcome with the force of their power.

Fire was beautiful and elegant, but it always needed something to burn.

* * *

 **So yeah. I made a second part. Three reason actually. One, I love you guys. Two, I had the idea in my head anyway. And three, I really couldn't think of anything better to do. Take that for what you will.**

 **Imagine a player with the stats of a boss, or a boss intelligent enough to become a counter to the player. Every person would have a different fight, depending on their play style, having the final boss always be a surprise and challenge. I think that would be an awesome boss.**

 **The ending is kind of rushed, but I think it works. How could you make their relationship any more stronger? Turn them into twin gods of sorts.**

 **Yeah.**

 **Look, I don't fucking know what I'm thinking right now. If you think this is stupid, that's fine by me. Just pretend this chapter doesn't exist. For the three people who actually do like it, I'm happy that I could provide.**

 **I'm not making a third one. Maybe. I don't know.**

 **Until next time,**

 **RMV**


End file.
